 Additional Options » Add to Wishlist » View your Wishlist |
The Gene ThievesMaria QuinnYour Price: $22.49 Free shipping on orders over $45! 
Ships in 5-7 business days.
Annotation Genetic scientist Piggy Brown is desperate for a child, but he's in a tricky legal situation. Dancer is a lawyer with his own reasons for wanting to grant Piggy's dearest wish - and he can set up Conjugal Contracts which push the envelope of the law. When a grotesque kidnapping occurs, everything is thrown into chaos. Publisher Description Brilliant, lonely genetic scientist Piggy Brown is desperate for a child, but he's in a tricky legal situation. Dancer is a lawyer with his own reasons for wanting to grant Piggy's dearest wish - and he can set up Conjugal Contracts which push the envelope of the law. Dancer visits The Nest, the official centre for surrogates, and inveigles them into recommending someone they have used before, someone who won't ask too many questions about the baby she carries. But choosing a surrogate can be risky, and this one, Angela, comes with baggage: her own child, Molly, a six-year-old who has already seen too much of her mother's world. When a grotesque kidnapping occurs, everything is thrown into chaos and Jack Lee, Chief Investigator for the UN Ethical Science Council, decides it's time to take charge of the case - for the sake of humanity's future. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Customer Reviews
Bob Desiatnik's Review of The Gene Thieves
First-rate scientific, medical and legal research; a compellingly plausible plot drawing on some “futuristic” notions that are nonetheless entirely grounded in the present; and a polished writing style: the ingredients of book which most assuredly deserves the accolades it has received.
That some of Maria Quinn’s “predictive fiction” in the realm of medical ethics, the law and society came to pass around the time her book was published is a reflection of the meticulous research that underpins the storyline. Each chapter teases the reader into the next – not in the formulaic, build-’em-up-and-string-’em-along and ultimately predictable fashion of a Grisham or a Dan Brown, but by shining a tantalising, shifting light at the end of carefully-constructed and at times crisscrossing tunnels of narrative.
The author has a deft, Carey-like feel for the English language – at once urbane and distinctively Australian. Her adroit use of dialogue is most impressive: male or female, young or old, endearing or sinister, her characters literally speak for themselves, lending further credibility to the intrigue which weaves its way through the novel. Make no mistake about it – the storyline is complex and rich in detail. It is the clarity of the writing, the balance, the easy shifting from the lofty to the vulgar, that make the journey such an engaging one.
It’s difficult to avoid the clichéd “I couldn’t put it down”, so I won’t even try. This is a chronicle of where science, malice, heroism and passion may one day take us. Recommended unreservedly.
Would you like to add a review? You'll need to Log in first.
